Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Is Randeep doing a Charles Sobhraj here?

While Randeep Hooda calls his next film a biopic on Charles Sobhraj, producer Pooja Bhatt argues otherwise

Randeep Hooda may have gone to town talking about his upcoming film -
which he says is a biopic of Charles Sobhraj. But the film's producer
Pooja Bhatt has us in for a mighty surprise after claiming her project
is
not a biopic at all.

While she accepts that Randeep's character
in the film is called Charles, she insisted that the basic premise has
nothing to do with the serial conman.

Even when the film was announced, it was widely reported to be a biopic
on Sobhraj. Even a while back, Adil Hussain had told a correspondent
from this paper that he was to play the cop, Amod Kanth, who had
arrested Sobhraj after he escaped from the Tihar Jail. Then, why is
Bhatt suddenly claiming otherwise?

The director of the film, Prawaal Raman too seems to be toeing his
producer's line. In a recent interview, he stated that the film was not
Sobhraj's biopic and that the narrative was from Kanth's viewpoint.

A
source from the film's sets in Udaipur, where Randeep and co-star Richa
Chadda are currently shooting, says, `From whatever portions we have
shot, it is clear that the film has resemblances to Sobhraj's life.
According to the script, we will try and portray certain aspects from
his romantic relationships as well.`

Says Bhatt, `It is not Sobhraj's biopic. The entire film focusses on his
infamous jailbreak. The episode is part of the public domain and I
purchased the rights to the story from the then-Delhi DCP, Kanth.`

On
why his lead actor claimed the film was a biopic in 'No time for love'
(HitList, July 16), Bhatt argues, `An actor cannot be the spokesperson
for a director or producer.

Randeep's character is called
Charles but we are going to put a disclaimer in the beginning about the
film being fictional. I cannot clear each and every report that comes
out and I am fine with any confusion on whether it is biopic or not.`